Ernest L. Poulson papers
Collection
Identifier: ACCN 0594
Scope and Contents
The Ernest L. Poulson papers (1891-1985) include an autobiography; research material (including correspondence, interviews, notes, and news clippings) on the Deseret Live Stock Company; and other short biographies and articles on land management in Utah, Farmers' State Bank (in Bountiful, Utah), and live stock. Audio cassettes contain interviews with Sterling S. McMurrin, Grace Kerr, and Irvin J. Cox.
Dates
- 1891-1985
Creator
- Poulson, Ernest L. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical / Historical
Ernest L. Poulson was born 2 March 1921 in Ephraim, Utah. According to Poulson's autobiography, his father made a living at odd jobs, including farming and serving as a government trapper; and as a boy, Poulson spent summers with his father checking traps set for coyotes, mountain lions, and bears. The depression years of the 1930s hit the Poulson family hard, as it did many families in their rural Utah town. Despite these difficulties, Poulson attended Snow College for two years beginning in 1939. While there, Poulson played snare drums in the 115th Engineer Band of the Utah National Guard. Called up to active duty with the beginning of World War II, Poulson gave up his drums for a pilot's cockpit. Eventually he became the co-pilot of a B-24 bomber named "Pistol Packin' Mama." The crew was assigned to Oran, Algeria, from where they participated in the Poloesi air raid on the Romanian oil refineries. During the historic raid, designed to cripple the German's energy supply, Poulson's plane was shot down. Poulson spent the next year in Romania as a prisoner of war. The transcribed journal entries from this year in prison are a highlight of Poulson's autobiography. When the Red Army conquered Romamia, Poulson and his comrades made their way to Italy, then to England, and at last, home. On 31 December 1944, seventeen days after leaving England for home, Poulson married Helen Lillywhite in Phoenix, Arizona.
After the war, Poulson remained in the air force, bouncing from assignment to assignment around the United States and Europe, spending time in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, as chief of an office in the Budget and Finance Division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and as Deputy and Chief of the ATLAS Weapon Systems Division of Air Force Command. On 8 June 1961, after obtaining the rank of colonel and posting over 5,000 flying hours, Poulson retired from the military. While serving in the military, Poulson obtained both a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah (1948) and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University (1951). After a few years in the real estate business, Poulson went back to school at the University of Utah. While working on a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, Poulson served as Assistant Dean in the Division of Continuing Education and, a year later, as Director of Personnel. After graduating with his Ph.D. and spending five years as Director of Personnel, Poulson moved to Associate Director of Research Park at the University of Utah, where he worked for seven years.
When he finished school at the age of forty-seven, Poulson became interested in history and was encouraged by historian friends. One of his particular interests was Western history and land management. The fruits of his interest include an article written on the Deseret Live Stock Company. The research files for this paper, including notes, interviews, correspondence, and newspaper clippings; make up the bulk of the collection. The remainder of the collection, articles and biographies, also reflects Poulson's interest in the history of Utah land management and Poulson's pioneer ancestors.
After the war, Poulson remained in the air force, bouncing from assignment to assignment around the United States and Europe, spending time in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, as chief of an office in the Budget and Finance Division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and as Deputy and Chief of the ATLAS Weapon Systems Division of Air Force Command. On 8 June 1961, after obtaining the rank of colonel and posting over 5,000 flying hours, Poulson retired from the military. While serving in the military, Poulson obtained both a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah (1948) and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University (1951). After a few years in the real estate business, Poulson went back to school at the University of Utah. While working on a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, Poulson served as Assistant Dean in the Division of Continuing Education and, a year later, as Director of Personnel. After graduating with his Ph.D. and spending five years as Director of Personnel, Poulson moved to Associate Director of Research Park at the University of Utah, where he worked for seven years.
When he finished school at the age of forty-seven, Poulson became interested in history and was encouraged by historian friends. One of his particular interests was Western history and land management. The fruits of his interest include an article written on the Deseret Live Stock Company. The research files for this paper, including notes, interviews, correspondence, and newspaper clippings; make up the bulk of the collection. The remainder of the collection, articles and biographies, also reflects Poulson's interest in the history of Utah land management and Poulson's pioneer ancestors.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ernest L. Poulson papers (1891-1985) include an autobiography; research material (including correspondence, interviews, notes, and news clippings) on the Deseret Live Stock Company; and other short biographies and articles on land management in Utah, Farmers' State Bank (in Bountiful, Utah), and live stock. Audio cassettes contain interviews with Sterling S. McMurrin, Grace Kerr, and Irvin J. Cox.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ernest L. Poulson in 1978 and 1985.
Separated Materials
Auto cassettes and photographs were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections (A0396, P0674).
Processing Information
Processed by Tad Davies in 1996.
- Articles
- Autobiographies (literary works)
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Correspondence
- Deseret Live Stock Company -- History
- Interviews
- Iosepa colony (Utah) -- History
- Legal documents
- Notes (documents)
- Poulson, Ernest L.
- Public lands -- Utah -- History
- Ranching
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives
Creator
- Poulson, Ernest L. (Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Ernest L. Poulson papers
- Author
- Finding aid created by Tad Davies.
- Date
- 1996 (last modified: 2019)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu